Jar in the Shape of a Bronze Vessel (Hu)

Place of OriginChina

DateHan Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE)

DimensionsH: 13 1/4 in.

MediumEarthenware; green glaze; silver iridescence

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LineGift of H.A. Fee

Object number

1945.3

Not on View

DescriptionEarthenware vessel with a globular lower body set over a foot and rising to a cylindrical neck and galleried rim. At the widest part of the body are two applied taotie mask-and-ring mock handles, molded in relief. The surface is coated overall in a green lead glaze, now displaying silver iridescence due to burial conditions.

Label TextThis ceramic jar copies the shape and decoration of an ancient Chinese bronze ritual vessel known as a hu. Molded ring handles and stylized animal masks, called taotie, echo earlier religious art used to honor ancestors. The glossy green glaze, once bright, was created using copper in a low-fired lead glaze and now shimmers with iridescence from centuries underground. Han Dynasty tombs often included such vessels to serve the deceased in the afterlife.